You're Not Alone
by Dark-Fire27
Summary: After both made an attempt to spend time with Lloyd in Flanoir, only to be turned down, Colette decides to spend her time with Presea, feeling that just because one person turned her down, doesn't mean another would. However, Presea, considering how Lloyd turned her down as well, is feeling rather negative about herself... PreseaxColette, Shoujo-ai.


AN: I own nothing by Namco, Tales Studio, as well as ADX and Nintendo (and any other companies I failed to mention here). I do not own the plot to the main storyline nor do I own the characters either, though what I have written here is completely original. This is basically my own input on a scene should both Presea and Colette remain behind in Flanoir with Lloyd, but neither are taken out with him.

_**You're Not Alone**_  
**A Tales of Symphonia Fan Fiction**

Although no wind was blowing, as I gazed out the window in my room, I watched in the few lights placed outside as snow fell to the ground. It was something I wanted to see moments ago, having asked the leader of our group, Lloyd Irving, to accompany me. However, he seemed to have other plans; I didn't wish to bother him any further than needed, so I left him alone, coming back to my room in the process. I don't understand this feeling when he refused my offer, like somebody just took and gave my chest a hard squeeze. This must be the pain known only as "rejection"; I guess Lloyd doesn't consider me as much of a friend as he claims…

No, I mustn't think of it like that; Lloyd would never intend to bring that kind of harm to me, after all, he himself has been through a lot, so perhaps he just needs time by himself to think things through. Perhaps I just had some bad timing on my end, or maybe… I did hear Colette step out of her room just recently and headed down to Lloyd's room. I think that… perhaps Lloyd has a stronger interest in Colette.

"Colette…" I muttered her name softly… the blonde girl that was the Chosen of Regeneration over in Sylvarant. She has been through so much on this journey, between being kidnapped by the Cruxis Angels, as well as the Desians, all the way to where she was in danger of becoming a Cruxis Crystal herself. And in the end of it all, that man, Rodyle, the most cunning of the Desian Grand Cardinals, went about calling her a sinful, failure Chosen. That truly angered me; Colette hasn't done anything wrong, and it was Rodyle's fault to take advantage of me before my own Exsphere lacked the proper Key Crest. I appreciate Lloyd's help in bringing me back to my normal self; I don't know just how long I've been in that state, but… I promised I would travel with them to ensure Colette's safety.

As I slowly brought my hand to clutch the Exsphere embedded in my collar area, I began to think about everything that has happened up to this point. It was a while ago that I had been released from the repressing effects of my Exsphere, yet even I'm aware that I'm yet from being perfect just yet. There are some conversation methods I've yet to understand.

Ah, of course, I'm going at it again, when surely there are those who may be unaware of what an Exsphere is. It's a special gem that is attached to the user to awaken their full potential in terms of strength, magic, and speed; it really depends on the person using it. However, based on something I heard from Lloyd, Exspheres are made at the cost of another's life and suffering, and alone can be hazardous to the person possessing on. My younger sister, Alicia, was a victim of this; she was equipped with an Exsphere that lacked a Key Crest, and when it was removed, she transformed into a monster… From what Lloyd explained, a Key Crest made from Inhibitor Ore and engraved with a special crest allows it to protect the user from having their mana run out of control when the Exsphere is removed. My old Key Crest, the one that was attached before Lloyd gave me a replacement, wasn't made of Inhibitor Ore, but this was because of the Angelus Project that was used to try and make a Cruxis Crystal at the cost of my own life. This experiment was the same one my sister went through, though oddly enough, her body wasn't capable of handling it, while mine was. Sometimes, I wish it was the other way around, but… then again, if it hadn't been that way, then I wouldn't have met Colette and the others.

They're so… kind and caring, constantly explaining to me that I'm not alone… When I hear that, I feel that pain from earlier; how would they know that I'm not alone when I was the only one that was held back because of my Exsphere? While some of them treat me like an adult, there are those in the group who treat me like a kid, though I still don't even know of my real age as of yet. I suppose this is to be expected when an Exsphere holds one back from aging. There's no way to turn back my time to reverse what has happened to me… all I can do is to keep living so Lloyd succeeds in defeating Cruxis.

Looking out the window again, I was a little surprised when I heard a knock on my door. It was quite unusual, particularly, since nobody should be around to come and bother me at this hour, though I suppose I shouldn't be disrespectful to whomever it may be on the other side.

"…Who is it?" My voice sounded rather… well, I suppose the proper way to call it was bland, lacking of emotions. But all the same, it was loud enough to be heard by the person behind the door, surely. And as I expected, a response returned.

"It's me, may I come in?" I don't know why, but when I recognized the voice as Colette's, the tight feeling in my chest from earlier seemed to settle down a little, as if that "hand" was releasing hold of me.

"…Of course; it's unlocked." I wasn't prepared to head to bed soon anyways; in fact, I was dressed up as I usually did, really. Basically a one-piece, sleeveless dress, if it could be called that, with a belt around my waist holding a knife close to my right hip, and a pouch on my back, as well as the arm-length, fingerless style gloves I have on my arms (covered in small plates for better protection) and the shin-high plated boots I have on as well. Aside from that, the only other things to include are the ribbons in my hair, keeping it held up in high, twin ponytails. I… actually remember that my hair kept getting in the way when I first started using the axe, and daddy explained it would be easier if my hair was put up like this.

After I told her to come in, the door was opened in little time at all, and I looked at Sylvarant's Chosen as she stepped in. She had straight, long blonde hair, bright, sapphire blue eyes, and even what she wore was rather fitting for a Chosen, at least when we should compare her with another Chosen we know. It consisted of a two-part jacket; the jacket itself, and an overlay just over it, as well as some leggings that offered some cover for her, as well as the matching boots she had on. On her neck, the pendant-looking object placed there, was the symbol of the Chosen of Regeneration; the Cruxis Crystal, though in truth, it really is only an evolved form of a regular Exsphere.

"Colette, what is it?" Even though my voice lacked emotions, as strange as it seemed, Colette seemed quite happy, looking out the window I was just previously looking through myself.

"I was wondering; I mean, since Lloyd seems busy trying to sort things out for tomorrow, I was wondering if you'd like to come out and see the snow with me, Presea?" Colette was rather to the point, but the cheerfulness in her voice seemed to put me more at ease, as if forgetting what happened between Lloyd and I earlier. It seemed he turned down Colette's offer to go outside as well, and seeing that she and I shared the same ideal, I felt it would give me an opportunity to talk to her.

"I…" I don't understand why, but I hesitated slightly; was this uneasy feeling "nervousness"? Why, of all times I'd get nervous around Colette, it just so happened to occur right now? I shook my head, trying to shake my head out; that's just silly. "Of course, Colette." I managed to get out, slightly choked and, well, a little forced, but after I said it, I began to ease up a little. It seemed Colette was a little oblivious as to how it came out, because she was smiling.

"Okay! I'll meet you downstairs." Colette spoke, and with that, she walked out the door, and I heard her walking down the hall to the stairs. Well, it would seem I should stick to my word and follow her. After another brief glance outside the window, I found myself walking towards my bedroom's exit, and after closing the door, I walked down the hall, and down the stairs. It was dark, mainly due to the night, though otherwise, there was still some light from the lit candles around here, so I was able to find my way over to the door. Colette had taken a scarf and wrapped it around her neck, and was wearing some mittens as well.

How come I always felt a small sense of uneasiness around Colette; there was nothing scary about her, not in the slightest, so why? I know it's nervousness, but she's not the kind of person who would ever turn a blind eye on someone or hurt them on purpose. She actually would care less whether you were friend or foe; she always tries to solve all problems through the use of words rather than weapons. Would this emotion be… envy? Yes, I suppose it could very well be seem that way; I myself can't be near as trusting as Colette, and yet, I would like to be if I can. She basically is the only one who can tell me.

"Presea, you're going to catch a cold if you go dressed like that; here…" Colette snapped me out of my thoughts with her words, and before I realized it, I released a faint "Eep!" when I was suddenly wrapped up in a jacket, and had a scarf wrapped around my neck as well. It was surprising, but… well, she did have a point when she told me to wear these; Flanoir was a cold place, after all, and at night, it's especially cold around here.

"Now that's much better, if I do say so myself, hehe." It was quite unusual, at least for me, but Colette was being quite concerning and caring. Perhaps… it could be because I was just as concerned for her back when Rodyle took her to that island in the skies, and I wanted to do everything I could to save her. Even though Lloyd could've said something, somehow… I made the decision to stand up for Colette, explaining she had never done anything wrong.

"I… understand. So, shall we be going?" I had no idea where Colette intended to take me in town, but since it was her idea to get me, I may as well let her lead me. She didn't seem to have any problems with that decision, and with that, opened the door and stepped outside, while I walked behind her. I closed the door behind us, and followed her up the street, heading upwards towards the stores and the church. The streets were rather quiet; it wasn't too much of a surprise, however, seeing that it was rather late and cold out, but all the same, we were just seeing the snow.

"Wow… Even Iselia never got this much snow in winter! It's so beautiful, isn't it Presea?" Colette broke the silence between us, talking about her home and comparing it to Flanoir… I couldn't help but provide a very soft smile towards her. The scene around us was, as she put it, very beautiful; the snow along with the lights around the city provided what may have been an entrancing effect on those who set eyes upon it and are not familiar with the area.

"Oh, Presea… can we make a stop at the Accessory Shop; there's something there that I had made just after the others took off to help out Altesa." Colette asked me, and while my heart tightened a little, being with the blonde girl seemed to make feel rather… relaxed.

"Of course, Colette." I spoke with a nod, and with that, I followed alongside Colette to that particular building, but it was there she asked me to wait outside for her. Of course, initially, I was a little confused, but I did not question her decision, and stood on the nearby balcony, looking out towards the ice sculptures towards the end of the far street. Despite the falling snow, there was enough of a light to show that there was a couple, a man and woman, looking at them. The woman's head was leaning against his shoulder, while his arm was wrapped around her.

For a brief moment, I got the mental image of Colette and I doing the same thing, but considering our differences in height, well… I would be the one who's head would be pressed against Colette's shoulder. I then shook my head after a moment longer; she probably didn't look at me that way at all. I mean… it's obvious that she loves Lloyd, since she went to talk to him earlier before me. I may care for Colette considerably, but she and I only knew each other for only a little while, in comparison to her whole childhood with Lloyd.

My hand reached up to clutch my chest as such thoughts came to mind; about Colette loving Lloyd, something inside of me just ached, like I didn't want that to happen. This must be… "jealousy", for I feel uncomfortable about Lloyd getting Colette's attention, the only one who I've spent the most time trying to protect when Lloyd wasn't able to on his own accord. My eyes suddenly became a bit cold and somewhat blurred, although this was remedied when I rubbed them briefly, but I looked down to watch where I wiped began to frost up.

I understand now… I'm sad because I am, in fact, alone, and I'm crying because of this feeling. I mean, Genis does his best, and he looks to be about my age as well, but… that's the thing, he looks at me as if I'm the same age as him, even though I don't even know how old I am. After some time, I heard the door to the shop open up.

"Thank you very much; have a wonderful evening!" Colette spoke to the shop owners in her bright, polite voice, which was so full of life in comparison to my own tone. I had to regain my composure, quickly shaking my head as I tried my best to relax, wiping the tears away once more. But, much to my dismay, it would seem Colette seen me.

"Ah, Presea… Are you okay?" Colette asked; her concern for me always made me feel lighter and secure. But, I didn't wish for her to feel too bad for me, so after a bit of an inhale, and ensuring no more tears were produced, I looked back to the blonde, trying my best to look normal.

"It's just… the cold made it up to my eyes and… I don't wish for my vision to be blurry, so I was wiping them to ensure I could… see when you returned and not frost." It was evident I made up that excuse right on the spot; the temperature wasn't all that cold to do that, especially since there was no additional winds to increase the chill. Even so, Colette seemed a little nervous.

"Oh, I see… Did you want to go back to the inn and warm up over some hot cocoa?" Colette spoke, and now I felt a bit bad, and responded with a quick shake of my head; I recalled that she wanted out here to enjoy the snow, and a trip to the accessory shop and back was a rather short walk.

"I'll be fine, I mean… Celcius delivered much colder strikes when we battled against her, so, a minor breeze and a cold atmosphere is practically nothing in comparison." I explained myself, and had a point. Celcius was the Summon Spirit of Ice who, ironically, resided in the cave further outside of Flanoir, and as you may expect, she used ice magic in contradiction to her powerful martial arts, as well as the ice wolf, Fenrir battling at her side made for a tough battle. In the end, the summoner of our group, Sheena Fujibayashi, was able to form a pact so she could summon her any time she desired.

"Well, if you say so, Presea… Then, would you like to look at the town from in front of the church with me? I heard there's a beautiful view up there." I heard Colette suggest, and with a nod from me, I followed behind her, noticing the packaged box in her right hand. While I was curious, I came to the guess it was something she had asked for herself, or something she planned to give Lloyd; I honestly hoped for the former, but I didn't get my hopes up too much.

I couldn't focus on this subject, and as we arrived to the balcony overlooking the entire city, I turned to look at Colette, who seemed to be quite memorised by the view. The fact that it was only her and I out here, it put me a bit more at ease. Things were quiet between us for some time; I wanted to break the ice that was between us, but I was a little surprised when Colette done so first.

"…Presea, back when Rodyle kidnapped me, and all of you came to see me… I really hoped to have seen you back to your true self. And, when you did, I was so happy at the time, but I didn't wish to endanger any of you at all… But…" I listened to Colette remind me of back then, and of course, I remembered it clearly.

"…What you did surprised me, Presea. I'm… sorry for what I had done to you all back then, but… from the bottom of my heart, when you destroyed what Rodyle used to imprison me, I confirmed something. When I heard you and I will be staying here tonight with Lloyd and Zelos, I thought I might spend some time with any one of you. Lloyd… seemed like he had a lot on his mind, and Zelos, despite his personality, seemed at a bit of a conflict himself. But, between out of all of you, I felt really happy that you were the one who would accompany this evening." Colette spoke, and this was causing me to tear up a little again, but, I was surprised to find out she wasn't yet done. "So, ummm, here, Presea; this is for you…" Colette added, handing me the little box she had, which I hesitated in taking.

I merely examined the package at first, a little bit of curiosity within me lingering on knowing just what was inside it. It was only when Colette said, "You can open it, if you like!" that I made any kind of movement to open the package. And, when I did, I opened the box to look at the contents within; the first was a beautiful, rainbow-colored hair ribbon, and what the ribbon was wrapped around was what appeared to be a snow bunny. It was a beautiful combination, and very thoughtful of Colette as well…

"…Even after what I did to you back then… you're still, accepting me?" I asked, taking the bunny and ribbon out of the box, and gazed at them curiously. I mean… I had inadvertently brought Colette to the point where she was kidnapped, and despite my effort to save her, I still feel that I could never receive her true forgiveness on it.

"As Lloyd had said, you were under the Exsphere's influence, and Rodyle used you to do that… So it's not your fault at all, Presea. And even so, you still went and saved me… I was really glad to know you were able to recover from that sudden surge of mana in my body. I… really wish there was more I could've done back then to have been more a help than… nothing, really." Colette explained, and I saw her smile considerably.

"But, the one who you should be presenting this to… should be Lloyd; you two are such good friends, so… why?" I had to ask Colette this simple question, but I was given the response of a warm, caring embrace from the blonde, which had me look back on the times Alicia and I had embraced one another… No, this wasn't the same as then; this much more love-filled, more than any family-related hugs.

"Lloyd probably has his priorities elsewhere right now… and besides, we're only childhood friends. We made the promise to be friends forever, and I'm really happy about that decision; I don't intend to change my feelings towards him. I know he may be my knight in shining armor, and will be there to come to my rescue when I need it, but, my prince…" Colette spoke, and with this pause in her words, I could feel her hand caressing my cheek, causing me to warm up intensely, my cheeks flaring as the blood rushed into my head. "Or rather, princess… is you, Presea. I know that you lost any ties to your family, namely your sister and father, but I just want to let you know… you're not alone; not while I'm around, Presea." Colette continued on, crouching down a little so the both of us were able to provide direct eye contact with one another easily in the process. Colette's words seemed to cause what was once a small ember inside me to flicker and ignite into a much larger flame. So, Colette really thought of me like…?

"C-Colette…" I stammered a little, trying to think of what I should say, however, my throat was dry, my breathing became a little erratic and my cheeks were flared to a deep crimson color. I couldn't think straight, but I soon stopped thinking entirely the moment I felt the blonde's lips press against my own. Colette was… kissing me? It was most certainly a surprise, however, I had no idea how to respond during the process it went on, though when she pulled away, my mind was still relatively fuzzy. It was a little embarrassing that such sweet words, gentle touches and a kiss could make me behave this way, but… this was also Colette, the one who I envied the most out of everyone in the group because of how she takes care of situations. She was, both psychologically and physically, an angel, more than anything, and… I loved her.

"If… if it's not too much to ask, Colette, ummm… would it be okay if, for tonight, that I sleep with you?" I asked, and with a nod from Colette, I smiled as a few more tears slipped down my cheeks; however, they did not freeze over, but that may be because I was so embarrassed as well.

"From now on, Presea… you're welcome to sleep with me whenever you'd like; if it's an extra means to show you're never alone, I won't ever mind or have any problems about it." When Colette spoke these words, I felt relieved and found myself giving Colette a tight embrace. Between us, both of our respective jewels on our necks, Colette's Cruxis Crystal and my Exsphere, began to radiate a soft, red glow each. Regardless, I couldn't help but feel truly happy about this, and I knew for a fact this was no dream at all.

The glows seemed to have startled Colette and, with that, she tumbled back onto her butt, with me following suit unintentionally. Despite the awkward positioning between us, right now… despite what my emotions were telling me, I knew it was too soon. That, and add to the fact we'll catch colds if we were to do that, I found myself slipping off Colette, and helped the angel back to her feet as well… and that was when she sneezed off to the side, rather cutely.

"If we stay out here too much longer, our chances to catch colds will be… more likely to happen." I began, but instead of providing a percentage like I usually did, well, I provided something that sounded more logical and made sense for a normal person. "That, and add to the fact the final battle with Mithos is tomorrow, too… we must rest up in order to be fully efficient when we go to fight him." I continued, with that, Colette smiled, before nodding. As I held the gifts she had given to me in my left arm, I kept a firm hold on Colette's left hand, and with that, we began to make our way back to the in, smiling all the way there. Why? Because… I knew from now on, I would not be alone; never again will I feel down, as long as I know Colette is fine and alive, then I will be happy.

Thank you, Colette… for being here for me. I promise that I will always be there for you, as long as you're always here for me…


End file.
